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During a mission to investigate some strange deaths the team composing of Arashi, Naruko, and Ren no Tsuki end up encountering an injured and exhausted Hanami on the run from two assassins that were part of a group that killed the leader of a group of bandits that were causing problems in Kumo and which Hanami had been undercover with. The assassins were subdued and captured, though the original mission was left unsolved due to the interruption but signs pointed to the culprits having escaped several days before the Kumo-nin had arrived anyways.

The winter brings many challenges and troubles to people, and Kumo and the Land of Lightning are no exception. Mountain roads become tricky or even impossible to get through, avalanches and hungry animals can put an end to even the most experienced travelers. This grey day though brings about a request for a team to head out and investigate on issue to the southwest a little ways from Kumo. The village has received requests for shinobi to look into an issue. Likely a straightforward enough mission, but a couple people have gone missing, and mostly devoured corpses have been found in the area. Most have chalked it up to animal kills but it has the people concerned. So mission requests were sent out to Arashi, Naruko, and Ren no Tsuki with Arashi being named as team leader. They were tasked with scouting out the area. There was a little village near a couple of the corpses where they were given direction and would mean a local guide who'd show them the way from there.

Arashi being team leader was…. Predictable enough. With his position. Though in reality he wasn't as strong as he could've been for it so it was questionable at times. Likely was more for his ability to think if anything. Anyways Arashi had made sure the team grouped up at the village gates in preperation for this mission. He personally would wait for them quietly until they were all here. His lan was simply to get there and ask questions before anything else. Probably have someone look at anything that was found or something of that sort.

Naruko was next to arrive on the scene, not having much questions herself at this given moment due to the severity of the mission, she is bundled up with a hooded vest and arm guards to shield herself from the cold, not that it was easy for her to get cold to begin with. She offers Arashi a wave as she greets him at the village entrance, though beyond that is surprisingly wordless. Perhaps the slight chill in the air made her more focused on the mission this time around rather than yabbering about.

A colorful explosion of smoke erupts a few feet away from the patiently waiting Naval Commander. Emerging from within is a sight so painfully offending in terms of color arrangement, that one needs an ample amount of determination to look at the man responsible for the flamboyant outfit. Even by kumo's somewhat "lax" stance on a shinobi's wardrobe, the eldest member on the team was a garish nightmare of pinks, greens, and blues. He compromised supposedly by wearing a dark grey cloak at all times. But calling the item a cloak would be a gross overstatement.
And how did he managed to get his chuunin flak jacket to be still functional yet match the ensemble?
"Ohayo gozaimasu~ Ren no Tsuki has arrived as promised!" He exclaims, chest puffing out near the end, and stylish cape fluttering in a convient breeze. "Haha! I know, I know. No need to stand there so amazed. We have a mission to complete!" He grins, teeth glinting for a second in the light.

The way to the small village was empty of any trouble, just snow and ice, which allowed the shinobi to pass fairly quickly. They arrived at the small village, finding it mostly empty with few people moving about. The arrival of the shinobi would've been spotted though, and they'd find themselves met by two men at the entrance of the village. One was an older, portly man with his hair pulled back in a knot and a short but thick black beard going grey. The other one beside him was a younger man and clearly bearing family resemblance.
The older man lifted a hand in greeting to the shinobi, "Hai, I'm to assume you're the shinobi from Kumogakure am I correct? I'm Tsubame Chokuro, more or less the village leader. This is my son Amuro." The younger man, Amuro, nods in a friendly greeting.

Arashi looked at both of them closely as his team arrived there at this village. "Hmm. Yeah we are the shinobi. Nice to meet you both. I am Hizumu Arashi." He would let the other two introduce themselves if they wanted. "I'll cut right to the chase. Can you tell us any important details. Whether they were put in the file or not I want to hear them from the source." He then turned to the other two with him. "If you two have any questions go ahead and ask them. Also I should've asked before but if you have any good tracking techniques do you mind telling me about them?" And then he looked back to Amuro and Chokuro.

Ren No Tsuki was an odd fellow. Naruko literally had to hold her cheeks the whole trip in order to make sure she didn't burst with laughter. The trek for her wasn't difficult. Snow and mountains wasn't a big deal for Kumo-nin after all. It was the natural terrain. Once they greeted the village leader Naruko simply rubs along the side of her nogin honestly not having any questions just yet. "Just need to see those bodies I suppose. You keep forgetting I'm a Cat-nin, Ara-kun?" Naruko questioned him curiously, maybe he hadn't really seen her in action… Stuff she couldn't remember. " I hunt out in the wild all the time, with enough investigation I should be able to get information on if a wild animal is attacking or not. It's strange for animals to be so active this time of the year though, the more dangerous types tend to be sleep…"

Naruko may have been deligent in her efforts to withold her reaction, but Ren No Tsuki was an observant socializer. That same keen eye warned him away from poking at the situation. Yet, he made a notes during the trek to plot future opportunities for a polite "Talk" in the future. He wore a pensive look well into their arrival, but quickly shook it off upon hearing Arashi's suggestion and questions.

"I've done quite a bit of hunting in my time as well. But if our adorable comrade here is really some sort of 'Cat-nin'—" He leans and cants his head this way and that while looking Naruko over. "She… is more than welcome to take the lead on this." He nods firmly, and then turns to finally study the locals. "Hmm~ My apologies for failing to introduce myself properly. My name is Ren No Tsuki, at your service." Ren offers, and if given the chance try to kiss the back of the younger man's hand. "And I do have at least one question. Specifically, regarding a history for these sorts of things happening in this area."

Chokuro nods, "Nice to meet you all, despite the circumstances. We brought the two bodies we found back to the village, in case the wildlife started hauling away the bones. Amuro here found the first body, and knows both locations so he'll take you to the spots after you see the remains." He turns to lead the part through the village as he continues talking, "You're right though, such animal attacks as these are quite rare during the winters. We're assuming it's just been a case of some predators in the area that're getting desperate but…well it's still odd." Amuro chimes in at that moment, having looked askance at Ren no Tsuki's attempt to kiss his hand, quickly pulling it back before that could happen but otherwise being polite, "While there were wolf prints, and even a bear by the second, they still just seem…strange. I feel like they weren't the ones who made the attack but honestly I can't tell." He shrugs a bit and sighs.
Chokuro scratches his beard, glancing at Ren no Tsuki, "There really isn't much history of such things happening around here. Sure, especially during the winter there's occasionally an accident, or the odd run in with a hungry predator, but generally we get mostly injuries not deaths." At that moment he stops before a small shack of a building and opens the door. The cold can't deaden all the smell of the two bodies on tables across the small room. The party will notice on first looks that both bodies are almost complete clean of flesh. Mostly just patches and scraps remain. No organs, the faces partially remain, looking like they were skinned. Chokuro grimaces, then looks away, "I can't say I find their sight very pleasant. The first body was one of our own, the man was a good guy but mostly kept to himself and lived a little outside the fringes of the village. We usually don't see him much during the winter so honestly didn't realize he was uh…well dead until Amuro found the body. The second we don't know at all, assuming some traveler braving the weather, poor man." He shakes his head, "Are there any more questions? I apologize, just need to see to a couple things if you don't need me. And Amuro of course will stay and can help you with anything else you need, beyond just a guide to where they were found."

Arashi looked closely at Naruko before sighing. "Ehh well. I have a file on you as well. But I don't like to just assume. Better to hear from you. Plus I don't believe I have been on a mission with you where such senses were needed… Maybe one out on the water but you don't have the same free reign there to search for.. Specific clues as much as just see incoming targets or things like that." He shrugged. "Apologies for forgetting if I have. Anyways that would be great if you could do that when we are free to look around." He said with a nod. Since Ren here seemed to be ready to let Naruko take over the searching he would just let Ren ask his question. No need to speak to them. "Well we can find out once we have time to look. This looks pretty interesting… Not much else is needed so we will figure this out." He would let the man leave and then looked to Naruko. "Alright. We can begin now. Where do we begin? I am not great at tracking so I'll let you take the lead for now."

Naruko nods as she looks at Arashi he seemed to very apologetic about it. "ha it's no big deal really" She responds to him while looking at the bodies from a distance. mostly just the foul stench of death filling her nostrils. "Very strange for everything to be picked out including the skin…. organs all gone. nothing left. we need to head on over to the location where these bodies were found. that will give a better idea on what actually happened, then I can start tracking." With that Naruko would attempt to catch a unique scent for tracking purposes later.

Ren still smiles, if only up until the duo turn away. At which point he haunches over, clutches his chest, and mutters something along the lines of "Oh farewell, my youthful spark~" under breath a few times. Of course, the moment any attention is shifted back towards him, the man is quick to straighten out and smile brightly.
"I see, I see. Most interesting." Ren rubs the pink scruff adorning his chin. While no stranger to death or the myraid of scents involved with it, even the flamboyant Chunnin couldn't help grimacing as soon as the stench washed over them. In spite of it, the man doesn't hesitate to wordlessly enter for a closer inspection of the bodies. Bruises, fractures, the odd cut in what little remains. There is little the man is willing to overlook while Arashi and the others converse. All the while he remained mindful to avoid disturbing the bodies too much.
"Not a bad idea, comrad." He says offhandidly. "Though personally…." He pauses, frowns, and then shakes his head before looking to the Amuro. "So, where to?"

RP: Rise transforms into SPAR-II.
RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…33

Ren's examination of the bodies would turn up much the expected cuts, bites, and scrapes from animals, no real surprise there. But his examination does end up bearing fruit eventually. Having been looking over the various marks he eventually notices some that don't fit. And after some careful looking notices there are marks on some of the remaining flesh, especially the face, that seems cut far too cleanly for animal claws and teeth, more in line with a blade one might hazard a guess though with the state of the corpses it's hard to tell.

Amuro meanwhile would nod to Arashi and open the door for them to leave when they were ready, "Of course. The first body is a little ways out but not too far. We should be able to reach it easily enough. The second one might mean traveling by night though which may hamper your search but I'll leave that up to you when it comes to it." With that he'd take the lead if they want to proceed.

Arashi would simply nod to let Amuro lead the way. He would keep an eye out the whole time as well if needed but not majorly until they were there at the body. When they were he got to work and spoke some. "Alright lets get to work." He did just that and expected them to handle it themselves. Well not fully as he would help but he expected them to do their own thing for this. "And Ren I guess just do what you do." Whatever that was. Looking at bodies so far.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…34

Once they arrived at the location Naruko was to do just that. She huffs slightly and begins to make her rounds in the area. The snow was actually benefit, it would allow for tracks and other things to linger longer, assuming nothing came to try and cover it up later. She goes back to her scent memory while trying to find some tracks to associate them with. She was looking for normal tracks and animal tracks, anything that could give further insight. She was goign to see if she could track any familiar tracks…and associate it with the dead body from before.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…34

Ren kept tight control over his expression during the examination. But afterwards, the man's eyes were kindled with determination. He would also relay what he found to the others along the way to the new location, confirming what others might've already figured or suspected about the deaths. These were no animal killings. At least, not by the phrase most direct meaning…
"My thanks, darling." Ren winks at Arashi. And with that, Ren began to the opposing side of Naruko. While she focused on tracks and scents, the man devoted more of his energy towards any signs explaining the means the men wound up dead; such as broken branches, and thin patches of snow where it should be thick.

RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…48

Amuro leads the way into a partially wooded area a couple hours out of town. He pointed off toward the west, indicating the direct of the first victim's cabin but that wasn't really the destination. The spot he lead them to was covered with snow though it was clear you could see some traffic through the area. There were even some traces of blood still visible on the snow.

Naruko would definitely be able to pick up animal scents in the area, common enough creatures, and wolves which were expected from the information given. The spot where the body had been found had a light layer of fresh snow but was clearly churned up and several tracks could be made out in the snow. She would also pick up the scent of carrion. The scent of the victim but something else, a different smell of death along with a faint trace of human though it would be hard to pinpoint it immediately from the mix of scents. Some careful searching would turn up a couple human tracks near the body but the rest seems to be lost either due to snow or because of the animals.

Ren meanwhile focused his searching on other signs. He would find a couple broken branches on some of the surrounding trees and one tree toward the southeast had a small smear of blood partway up, too high to come from even a wolf.

Arashi looked at Naruko closely to see if she noticed anything. He wasn't that accurate and he frowned a bit that he didn't know if he was going to be very helpful here. "Tell me if you notice anything. I will start moving a bit further outwards and use my mist to see if there is anything currently watching us." And he figured it was possible but he wasn't sure at all. Hopefully it prevented them from being caught off guard at least. The mist would spread out pretty far at least.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a GREATER-REVEALING-MIST…64

"Theres a lot going on here…but it looks like most of the trail is gone…stupid snow…" Naruko whines as she continues to look around for any particular leads. There was that one special potentially human scent that was hard to set out on, for this she literally went on all fours to give it a closer sniff, which was hard considering the large amount of different scents in the area. " Anyone else find any other leads? I…may have a scent…ish… But it really just depends on what else we can find."

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…36

"Hmm… No.. This is too cold even for them." Ren muttered underbreath while stroking his chin and staring intently at the smear of blood. In spite of his own doubts, Ren kept a closer eye on the tree tops close the group. Even the hinted at assurance of the team's leader does little to remove the trickle of fear now roaming about in the normally flamboyant man's mind. "Over here." He finally waves the pairs' attention over before directing it to the damaged and smeared tree. "Whatever it is that got those poor souls seems to have a liken for heights."

Arashi's mist wouldn't turn up any signs of people nearby as they thicken through the area. With focusing on the faint human scent Naruko would be able to get a little better bead on it. She would be able to discern that there was more than one though not how many. And while faint, the scent was 'fresher' toward the southeast though didn't seem to originate from that direction but where that might be is lost in the other scents.

Arashi frowned and looked at the others. "Yeah umm.. I got nothing. I am terrible at this spotting thing." He said with a chuckle. "Anyways Naruko and Ren.. You two find anything that could even slightly lead to what we need to find?" He sighed as this was probably not the best mission for him to lead. "Sorry I am not helpful for this sorta mission. My skills don't lend themselves to… Finding scents or tracks. At all." He did continue to look though.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…22

Naruko was getting a better hold of a scent but smell could only get them so far. "It looks like there were definitely multiple people here. Multiple people and one body…That's definitely fishy. I can't get much else other than that though. We will need to find bit more sources…" She glances to the southeast. I have a scent going in that direction but that's about it. We are definitely looking for another Human, she then looks to Ren. "Blood that high huh? Probably definitely a human then…we just need to figure out who and where…" THe search would continue , Naruko checking for a lead closer to the south east.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…58

"Oh don't put yourself down yet, my boy. With how things are looking, we'll be seeing your other 'talents' in action soon enough." Ren says while wondering over to pat Arashi on the shoulder. "Human?" He parrots, turning to regard Naruko. "Hmm… I was afraid of that." With little more to add, Ren turns back to pat Arashi a few more times if given the chance before following after Naruko. Start to, at least, only to remember their original guide lingering about the area. "What lies southeast of here?" He asks of Amuro.

Amuro had been quietly standing outside the area, trying to keep out of the way while the shinobi did their work since this was outside his expertise beyond simple tracking. When Ren speaks to him he blinks a bit then thinks, "Lets see…nothing. I mean, just some more forests and all same as around here. Can't really think of anything special that way." He shrugs, "But I will say it's away from the other corpse. So…guess that means this was their second kill, whoever these people are that did this."

Naruko would be able to get a lock on the scent for the time being, faint as it was and it definitely headed southeast. Blood was mixed in, and with her continued focus she'd be able to pick up the smell of more traces of blood in that direction; some above, some below confirming a trail. Sadly Arashi's searching didn't turn up anything new in the area.

Arashi looked at Ren first and chuckled. "I don't doubt I will have to do something but you know what…. I still think there were better options for this type of mission. I just think they didn't expect too much difficulty so they sent me just to look over things since I wasn't busy and I got to bring you and our friendly cat shinobi over there." He chuckled a bit more. "At least we do have her though. Might've been a bit harder to do things." Anyways he continued to look around. As much as he could. And he didn't really speak much on what Amuro said as it made enough sense and he didn't have any major questions.

"We will have to keep moving, I definitely smell more blood going in this direction…" Naruko said as she began to continue to walk in the direction of southeast, trying to figure what realyl happened. "The trail is quite obvious…We just need to follow this blood and see what is leads to…I recommend keeping your guard up…we gotta be very careful from here on out…"

"Indeed?" Ren asked Amuro. "Well then! In which case-…" He stops short after having been caught off guard by Naruko's statement. He glances once more down the way the trail leads before turning to offer Amuro a wave. "It seems then that this is where we part ways then Amuro… That is, if that is alright with you too, Arashi-san?" He pauses long enough for answer, and if given the go ahead starts making shoo'ing motions at Amuro. "Tell that village leader of yours that will report back what we find as soon as possible, alright?"

Amuro frowns, nodding, "Yes, indeed. This is really disturbing if we have people in the area capable of such violence. I'll make sure to let my father know, and he'll take the necessary precautions and we'll await your return with whatever news you have. Thank you for your help shinobi." With that he gives them a nod and turns, heading back to the village. For the team they're left with a trail they can follow.

Arashi would of course be looking around but that part where Amuro would be heading out made him pause. "Hey Naruko. Could you make a clone and send it with him to keep an eye on him?" This was said after Amuro had already moved outta ear shot. "Can stay out of sight. That way we can keep him safe if he needs it and watch what they do. Can't be too careful." He stated with a frown before looking back around the area they were at as he looked for all the clues. Maybe they would actually find something eventually. It was getting to that point where he was worried they would miss something or be too late for something."

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…29
RP: Naruko uses SHADOW-CLONE.
RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…45

Naruko nods to Arashi, creating a single shadow clone to go out and follow Amuro on his way back, keeping him safe for the time being. This allowed the regular Naruko to focus more on following the scent. They were on the right track, but she did feel alittle on edge. "This is like some creepy lost in the snow land playwright…" Naruko mummbles a bit to herself, shaking her head. "Definitely human, and this person put up quite the fight…ran like heck, or something. Lots of drops…"

RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…41

Ren struck one last good guy pose as Amuro retreated from the scene. The smile he wore soon waved with the man's passing out of sight. It is a short-lived one thanks to Arashi's suggestion, and with newly rekindled pep, Ren returned his focus on the trail. Again, the fabulous Chunnin left little to chance, for High and Low were looked over in equal measure. Spying increasing more evidence of their targets as they went along, Ren frowns and starts to slow his movements. Not by much to peel completely away from the others, but certainly enough that they may take notice of it.
"Their getting sloppy as well. We must be getting close. I… do fear that if this hunter has another in his *chuckles* or her sights, things might get a bit complicated."

Naruko's shadow clone wouldn't find anything suspicious about Amuro's actions. He made his way straight back to the village and found his father, informing him of when the shinobi had turned up and what they were doing now. Then he went with his father, likely to plan and prepare.
For the shinobi on the trail, things move along pretty easily. The signs are all there becoming more noticable as the group moves along. The ground turns more rocky, with it rising up ahead creating a sheer cliff face on the left and what might be a little open area beneath it.

Arashi frowned a little bit and looked at the other two. "Alright keep an eye out. For now stay quiet until I have the all clear. You two keep moving up." He said and then started to. He did have little signs he might be able to use with his hands. He personally was gonna just keep moving quietly as he looked around. Not much else he personally could do at the moment but he was ready. Oh and he made sure to have chakra readies just in case. Better to be safe than sorry. And with this area and it being more obvious he figured now was the right time for it.

Arashi's sudden use of chakra had pushed Naruko to do the same, at this point they were following the tracks rather straight forwardly, she would continue using her acute senses but for now it seems like the path was pretty straight…unless they were to reach another dead end. " Can't tell if it's getting any stronger btu we are definitely going the right direction… Definitely sloppy. Maybe we will be able to exact some justice fairly soon if they are stupid enough to stick around…"

Ren sighed lightly in relief and nodded curtly in agreement with the new order. Quiet the man could do whenever the need was great enough. Oddly enough, that need never seemed to be present outside of missions. c.c; "Do not let your hopes get too high, comrad, least we become the prey. And personally I prefer to keep this handsome work of art where it is." He gestures to his face and grins, catching the light just right enough for his teeth to glint in it. With that momentary distraction out of the way, Ren sharpened his focus on the cliff face. If the killer had a knack for heighs, mayhaps there are clues there this timie…

As Arashi and the others come into the area by the cliff face Naruko would get a sense of something coming from her left, beyond the cliff face. The sound of something running their way but that's really it. The small open area at the base of the cliff would be easily noticed to have been churned up with a large area of bloody snow scattered around and a visible trail through the snow continuing much the same direction as they were heading.

Arashi made a sign with his hand telling Naruko and Ren to split up a bit more and try to stay quiet if able. Obviously not as straightforward as that but close enough. He moved up himself to see if he needed to check on anything in particular. Specifically to see if he could find any information in the opena rea around here. The bloody snow mainly of course. See how it spread.. Maybe can see how the blood got to its current position. Was someone dragged through here or wrecked ight there for instance. Naruko could keep an eye out for anything further out.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…31

The sight of more blood was truly begining to irritate Naruko, she frowned and clenched her fists, watching Arashi's sign but at this point she really just wanted to know the source of all of this. She would use this opprotunity to definitely spread out from Ren and Arashi, and take a better look at the clifface and the path of blood, she even reached down and dabbled some blood on her finger, checking to see just how fresh this blood may a have been. There were no words to leave her lips, instead she merely invesitgated this lead.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…38

The bloody snow looks to be scattered around, clumps and smears along with just being churned up. Hard to say but it doesn't seem like a person or creature bled out with the way it's all churned up and scattered about. There's not much blood leading away, just smeared in footprints so likely carried from the big area. The blood isn't fresh at all, mostly just dyeing the snow though likely the snow itself has kept the blood from drying completely.
Naruko would catch more sounds of running approaching the cliff, though the cause of the noise would be readily apparent as the sound of scrabbling and rocks falling come from the top of the cliff face. There's a large shadow that comes barreling over the edge in an incredible leap. It'd become clear as it sails over the groups' heads that the shadow turned out to be a huge wolf with a rider. Instead of crashing to the ground in a bloody mess the pair's descent seems to slow enough that they come in with a skid and scrambling of paws. The large wolf is mostly reddish brown and cream but a quick glance shows many spots where the fur might've been burned. The rider isn't discernable at the moment with a hooded jacket and half a mask of sorts. The rider too bares the singed marks of being burned especially the half mask which is almost entirely blackened. Both rider and beast appear quite worn out, but also staring back up at the cliff.

Arashi looked at Naruko and paused in thought. Hmmm he was curious to what she may see. Though it didn't take long for something to happen and what happened next sorta gave him a pause from looking for clues. "Prepare for a fight." He said quickly to the others as he formed a hand seal just in case. "Who are you and do you know what is going on here or are you a part of this?" He asked quickly before pausing and looking a bit closer. "Wait…" He paused a moment longer. "Uhhh…. Why do I recognize you?" He didn't fully know why he did. Mostly cause it was the wolf he was recognizing and not the rider. "No matter. Exlain your situation and what you are doing here!" Didn't want to assume they were the bad guy.

Naruko was very anxious with the whole situation. There wasn't anything creepy at all about following trails of blood and then finding a wolf and hidden person coming up next. Since Arashi said he had someonewhat recognized them she didn't say anything to confront this individual, instead she took a step back and made sure her senses were opened up so there would be no more surprises, instead she attempted to analyze the condition of the indivdiual from afar, analyze and prepare herself for anything that was to come from this, especially a sneak attack.

Hanami lifted her head wearily, her and Honi had been on the run for too long, they were both worn out. But she knew at least one of the chakra signatures she had come upon. Bit of a relief at least, so she reached up before responding to Arashi's questions and yanked off the burnt mask, coughing as she finally spoke her voice hoarse, "Long time Arashi. Things didn't go so well, but more later. I got company coming, and they /really/ wish me dead. It's been a long few days." And as if to punctuate her words, up on the cliff two forms appear. One jumps off and blasts fire to slow the fall while the other seems to surf down the side of the cliff coming to a stop a short distance from Arashi's party. The fire user is a man, the earth user a woman both wearing the same dark green outfits, looks like leather armor over long-sleeve shirt and then pants. The woman speaks, "Well looks like our prey came across some bystanders. Shame, she shouldn't have done that. Just means more bodies." The man just grins and darts forward without warning, holding his hands up he forms the signs and exhales a large fireball straight for Arashi. The woman meanwhile stands back and does her own hand signs, causing the earth beneath Naruko to shift and crumble, opening in the form of a gaping maw that tries to crush its jaws around her lower legs.

Arashi frowned and looked over Hanami for a moment. "Yes long time indeed. So they wish you dead. Any reason why they wish you dead?" He asked that question with a raised brow before pausing and looking at the people who showed up. "Oh fun. I do get to use my skillset." He frowned before turning to Naruko. "Lets make sure one of the two of them are captured alive. One of them being a casualty isn't an issue if it comes to that." He stated. "Hope one of you have some rope." He stated to his team. Though who knows maybe Hanami had some. "And Hanami. Explain this after we handle it." The attack that came his way was easily blocked with tiny strips of water that were stronger than they looked. The other went for Naruko though neither would really escape his attacks. Instantly his chakra increased to another level. Though not full power by a longshot just yet. Just enough to visibly show his increase in power as any sensor could see the chakra around him. And with just a few hand seals he fired an attack that would discharge when in between the two of them and explode outwhere. Electrical charge everywhere. "You two should make sure not to fight someone you can't beat if you get the chance another time."

"It's going to be difficult to keep a survivor…" Naruko simply replies back to Arashi as it was discovered that the attacked individual was Hanami… The rival shinobi made a grave mistake on who they were fighting today. Naruko simply rolled away from the maw before it could encompass her. She used that as an opprotunity to easily square up and motion into the rival woman's direction, forging a sphere of fire chakra into the palm of her hand she thrusted it out forward to slam into the rival. Not enough to kill but definitely enough to do damage.

Hanami glares at the two attackers, but it doesn't last long as she slumps, only able to support herself on Honi with her right arm. The wolf growls threateningly but he doesn't look in much better shape. "Luck is on my side for once…sorry but gonna have to leave them up to you…" And she promptly passes on though she's still atop Honi fine enough as the attackers strike at their opponents but fail to connect.

The man manages to react in time though to Arashi's attack, blazing in a jagged dash out of the way though his partner doesn't fair so well against either. He swears, "Get it together bitch! What's wrong with you!?" He looks back to Arashi and sneers, "A couple shinobi brats wont stop us." With that he focuses his chakra and exhales a long fire whip-like tongue and with a flick of his head sends it lashing at Arashi to wrap around his body and burn him.

The woman clearly didn't have her game on at the moment as Arashi's blast shattered her dome striking her and causing her to scream in pain. It also clearly disrupted her concentration as Naruko's fire orb hit her hastily erected shield and busted through sending the woman crashing back. She staggered to her feet as her partner swore at her but she didn't respond, she was too pissed to care. He was a bastard anyways. So she focuses and the cliff behind her rumbles as the earth juts out in the form of a large dragon head which immediately opens its mouth to unleash a powerful torrent of mud straight for Naruko intent on striking her down with its force.

Arashi watched one of them get utterly destroyed by the combined assault but they did seem to live. The other one though was fine. For now. Though his comments seemed to bother Arashi. "Hey Naruko. See the man? We can kill that one. I'll capture the woman." The whip like tongue would strike a clone of water which then had that same water used to rush forwards and try to attach itself to both of their opponents. Different reasons. One was to prevent their escape from the upcoming attack while the other was to simply hold them captive. Whether the skill hit or not he would move close to the woman. "You know we won't kill you if you surrender now. We don't want you dead. And you may not believe me but Kumogakure is one that… Accepts others. If you gave us any info we needed we would easily decide to protect you. And I have a lot of say if you need my word on the matter."

Naruko was given the 'Okay' to kill the man responsible for the damage, and with that she would definitely carry that out. The earth dragon bullet slammed right into her, only to explode in a mass of firey chakra, replaced with a clone rather than the real Naruko getting hit. She then began to rapidly move forward towards the 'bad man' only to explode soon after making contact with him. Yet another clone, exploding at a close blast raidus to bring the evil guy to his knees, assuming he was caught in the explosion.

Well things certainly weren't going well for these two. Arashi's water chains bind both the man and woman despite their efforts to avoid them. This hinders the man's attempts of dodging Naruko's explosive clone which knocks him back, sending him crashing down to the ground. The woman meanwhile is held as Arashi speaks to her. She glares at him for a long moment but then glances at her felled partner and then sighs, "Fine, whatever. Surrender then. Guess the bitch gets to go free, not like it'll matter anyways." She laughs dryly.

Arashi looked closely at her and frowned before turning to face Naruko and then the likely not even close to dead yet man. Never can be too sure. "Hmm. Well I guess we shouldn't just kill them just for the heck of it. If he is still alive and not in the midst of dying find something to tie him up with." He turned back to face the woman. "What's going on? With everything involving the girl over there. The more honest and forthcoming you are the more we all will be inclined to be understanding. And I think that would be very good for you. If we weren't well… I can promise it would not be very pretty." He frowned. They had many ways to get what they wanted or needed. "Anyways might as well tell us something now While we get things under control. And then we will be on our way back to Kumogakure." He paused a moment before turning to Hanami. "Oh and could someone please wake her up. She needs rest but I also need to know whats going on from her point of view as soon as possible. I don't want to bring issues all the way back to Kumogakure if they can be fixed immediately."

The woman glances at her fallen partner once more, then shrugs as she looks back to Arashi, "Geez, it's like you want me to give you my entire life story, so needy! Very well, doesn't matter anyways. We were sent to kill someone. The job was done, and we cleaned house. Well except for that one, she gave us more trouble than we cared for. Knew we should've just let her go, figures. Does anyone listen to me though? Noooooo." She spits on the ground, "There you have it. Killed our target, and chased your friend down since she was a witness." Her partner seems to be alive, though barely so who knows if he'll end up being any help but he still is secured just in case. While that's going on Ren goes to Hanami and gently shakes her till she stirs groggily, "Wha…oh. Oh good, fight's done…" she winces as she shifts up, blinking and definitely favoring her left arm which doesn't seem to be working well, "So…hey. Been well?" This awkward question is directed at Arashi.

Arashi looked at the woman and nods slowly. "I will have more questions later. To be more specific about this job but that is acceptable for now. And umm sorry about this." He would then place a hand on the womans shoulder before zapping her with enough force to make her pass out. Hopefully long enough to travel without any trouble. And he would then also bring the man over as well. Keep them together and as alive as he could with first aid. Two people to question was better than one. Even if he would let the man die otherwise. "Hey Hanami. I've been better. I figure you could say the same yeah?" He asked befoe stepping over and offering some first aid that he had on him. "Could you tell me what happened and why or how it happened?"

Hanami grimaces as you check her out, and are able to see her left arm is clearly broken. "Yeah…something like that. Kinda botched things up, shocker," she coughs, "Wasn't getting anywhere finding Chitabe or his plans. Was getting ready to extricate myself when the group I was with was called to Chitabe." She shakes her head, "So I couldn't leave, figured this was my shot. But things went south pretty quickly. The repeated failures must've drove the guy man, I don't know. Never got into a good position with them but you hear things. Then those guys appeared, though there were more of them. Talk was Chitabe was going to do something extreme but then…well they killed him. Explosions, screaming, and then it just went to hell…"she coughs, shaking her head, "They slaughtered everyone. And yeah, many of them were scum but some had families, innocent people that didn't deserve it. Tried to help but couldn't so…so I ran. Couldn't take them all on. Got one of them, Honi surprised another that would've gotten me and then managed to take out another while on the run but at that point I was spent and those two would've gotten me eventually. Damn lucky you were around." She just gives a long sigh.

Arashi nods lightly at her story before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah I would say you were lucky. I can tell how worn out you are just from looking at you. We will get you back to Kumogakure. I promise you that much." He said before giving her a quick hug. She was still a member of his team and he was glad to see she was alright. "Now. I think we could start heading back now. Umm I have to say it might be easiest if the two of them were carried.. Well basically do you think you could walk? I could probably help if you need it but it would be easiest if none of us had to carry our captives." He frowned. Another reason two captives was annoying but he could deal with it. "Once we have that settled we can start heading back."

Hanami sags, but nods, "Thanks, yeah. Be good to get back. City hasn't been blown up again while I was gone I hope?" She bites her lip, rubbing Honi and leaning down to whisper to him before sitting back up, "I think he's up for it, if there's somewhere nearby we can stop at? Not entirely sure where we are but I'm pretty sure we're not close enough to Kumo for either of us to make it right now without rest. And I gotta see to Honi's injuries as well. He's tough, but he took a beating too. But yeah, as long as you don't expect us to go any faster than a slow walk." With that she manages to slide off Honi only a little ungracefully and waits for the others to put the prisoners on Honi's back. Letting them keep an eye on the cargo, Hanami would just keep a hand on Honi's neck, leaning against him some whenever they set off, obviously letting Arashi lead the way.

"Nope. It is still there. No worries. And if there isn't a place we can stop at then I will just attempt to set up a camp. As best we can. No need to push you until we get back. If you get too tired just tell me. I can carry you until we reach a good stopping point or until you are ready to walk again." And with that Arashi would simply start leading them onwards. If Hanami needed it he would indeed carry her a bit of course. It wouldn't be an issue for him really and he figured it wouldn't be long until she was alright. The other two would be both assigned on forward scouting and prisoner duty. Taking turns doing both as best they could.

The winter brings many challenges and troubles to people, and Kumo and the Land of Lightning are no exception. Mountain roads become tricky or even impossible to get through, avalanches and hungry animals can put an end to even the most experienced travelers. This grey day though brings about a request for a team to head out and investigate on issue to the southwest a little ways from Kumo. The village has received requests for shinobi to look into an issue. Likely a straightforward enough mission, but a couple people have gone missing, and mostly devoured corpses have been found in the area. Most have chalked it up to animal kills but it has the people concerned. So mission requests were sent out to Arashi, Naruko, and Ren no Tsuki with Arashi being named as team leader. They were tasked with scouting out the area. There was a little village near a couple of the corpses where they were given direction and would mean a local guide who'd show them the way from there.

Arashi being team leader was…. Predictable enough. With his position. Though in reality he wasn't as strong as he could've been for it so it was questionable at times. Likely was more for his ability to think if anything. Anyways Arashi had made sure the team grouped up at the village gates in preperation for this mission. He personally would wait for them quietly until they were all here. His lan was simply to get there and ask questions before anything else. Probably have someone look at anything that was found or something of that sort.

Naruko was next to arrive on the scene, not having much questions herself at this given moment due to the severity of the mission, she is bundled up with a hooded vest and arm guards to shield herself from the cold, not that it was easy for her to get cold to begin with. She offers Arashi a wave as she greets him at the village entrance, though beyond that is surprisingly wordless. Perhaps the slight chill in the air made her more focused on the mission this time around rather than yabbering about.

A colorful explosion of smoke erupts a few feet away from the patiently waiting Naval Commander. Emerging from within is a sight so painfully offending in terms of color arrangement, that one needs an ample amount of determination to look at the man responsible for the flamboyant outfit. Even by kumo's somewhat "lax" stance on a shinobi's wardrobe, the eldest member on the team was a garish nightmare of pinks, greens, and blues. He compromised supposedly by wearing a dark grey cloak at all times. But calling the item a cloak would be a gross overstatement.
And how did he managed to get his chuunin flak jacket to be still functional yet match the ensemble?
"Ohayo gozaimasu~ Ren no Tsuki has arrived as promised!" He exclaims, chest puffing out near the end, and stylish cape fluttering in a convient breeze. "Haha! I know, I know. No need to stand there so amazed. We have a mission to complete!" He grins, teeth glinting for a second in the light.

The way to the small village was empty of any trouble, just snow and ice, which allowed the shinobi to pass fairly quickly. They arrived at the small village, finding it mostly empty with few people moving about. The arrival of the shinobi would've been spotted though, and they'd find themselves met by two men at the entrance of the village. One was an older, portly man with his hair pulled back in a knot and a short but thick black beard going grey. The other one beside him was a younger man and clearly bearing family resemblance.
The older man lifted a hand in greeting to the shinobi, "Hai, I'm to assume you're the shinobi from Kumogakure am I correct? I'm Tsubame Chokuro, more or less the village leader. This is my son Amuro." The younger man, Amuro, nods in a friendly greeting.

Arashi looked at both of them closely as his team arrived there at this village. "Hmm. Yeah we are the shinobi. Nice to meet you both. I am Hizumu Arashi." He would let the other two introduce themselves if they wanted. "I'll cut right to the chase. Can you tell us any important details. Whether they were put in the file or not I want to hear them from the source." He then turned to the other two with him. "If you two have any questions go ahead and ask them. Also I should've asked before but if you have any good tracking techniques do you mind telling me about them?" And then he looked back to Amuro and Chokuro.

Ren No Tsuki was an odd fellow. Naruko literally had to hold her cheeks the whole trip in order to make sure she didn't burst with laughter. The trek for her wasn't difficult. Snow and mountains wasn't a big deal for Kumo-nin after all. It was the natural terrain. Once they greeted the village leader Naruko simply rubs along the side of her nogin honestly not having any questions just yet. "Just need to see those bodies I suppose. You keep forgetting I'm a Cat-nin, Ara-kun?" Naruko questioned him curiously, maybe he hadn't really seen her in action… Stuff she couldn't remember. " I hunt out in the wild all the time, with enough investigation I should be able to get information on if a wild animal is attacking or not. It's strange for animals to be so active this time of the year though, the more dangerous types tend to be sleep…"

Naruko may have been deligent in her efforts to withold her reaction, but Ren No Tsuki was an observant socializer. That same keen eye warned him away from poking at the situation. Yet, he made a notes during the trek to plot future opportunities for a polite "Talk" in the future. He wore a pensive look well into their arrival, but quickly shook it off upon hearing Arashi's suggestion and questions.

"I've done quite a bit of hunting in my time as well. But if our adorable comrade here is really some sort of 'Cat-nin'—" He leans and cants his head this way and that while looking Naruko over. "She… is more than welcome to take the lead on this." He nods firmly, and then turns to finally study the locals. "Hmm~ My apologies for failing to introduce myself properly. My name is Ren No Tsuki, at your service." Ren offers, and if given the chance try to kiss the back of the younger man's hand. "And I do have at least one question. Specifically, regarding a history for these sorts of things happening in this area."

Chokuro nods, "Nice to meet you all, despite the circumstances. We brought the two bodies we found back to the village, in case the wildlife started hauling away the bones. Amuro here found the first body, and knows both locations so he'll take you to the spots after you see the remains." He turns to lead the part through the village as he continues talking, "You're right though, such animal attacks as these are quite rare during the winters. We're assuming it's just been a case of some predators in the area that're getting desperate but…well it's still odd." Amuro chimes in at that moment, having looked askance at Ren no Tsuki's attempt to kiss his hand, quickly pulling it back before that could happen but otherwise being polite, "While there were wolf prints, and even a bear by the second, they still just seem…strange. I feel like they weren't the ones who made the attack but honestly I can't tell." He shrugs a bit and sighs.
Chokuro scratches his beard, glancing at Ren no Tsuki, "There really isn't much history of such things happening around here. Sure, especially during the winter there's occasionally an accident, or the odd run in with a hungry predator, but generally we get mostly injuries not deaths." At that moment he stops before a small shack of a building and opens the door. The cold can't deaden all the smell of the two bodies on tables across the small room. The party will notice on first looks that both bodies are almost complete clean of flesh. Mostly just patches and scraps remain. No organs, the faces partially remain, looking like they were skinned. Chokuro grimaces, then looks away, "I can't say I find their sight very pleasant. The first body was one of our own, the man was a good guy but mostly kept to himself and lived a little outside the fringes of the village. We usually don't see him much during the winter so honestly didn't realize he was uh…well dead until Amuro found the body. The second we don't know at all, assuming some traveler braving the weather, poor man." He shakes his head, "Are there any more questions? I apologize, just need to see to a couple things if you don't need me. And Amuro of course will stay and can help you with anything else you need, beyond just a guide to where they were found."

Arashi looked closely at Naruko before sighing. "Ehh well. I have a file on you as well. But I don't like to just assume. Better to hear from you. Plus I don't believe I have been on a mission with you where such senses were needed… Maybe one out on the water but you don't have the same free reign there to search for.. Specific clues as much as just see incoming targets or things like that." He shrugged. "Apologies for forgetting if I have. Anyways that would be great if you could do that when we are free to look around." He said with a nod. Since Ren here seemed to be ready to let Naruko take over the searching he would just let Ren ask his question. No need to speak to them. "Well we can find out once we have time to look. This looks pretty interesting… Not much else is needed so we will figure this out." He would let the man leave and then looked to Naruko. "Alright. We can begin now. Where do we begin? I am not great at tracking so I'll let you take the lead for now."

Naruko nods as she looks at Arashi he seemed to very apologetic about it. "ha it's no big deal really" She responds to him while looking at the bodies from a distance. mostly just the foul stench of death filling her nostrils. "Very strange for everything to be picked out including the skin…. organs all gone. nothing left. we need to head on over to the location where these bodies were found. that will give a better idea on what actually happened, then I can start tracking." With that Naruko would attempt to catch a unique scent for tracking purposes later.

Ren still smiles, if only up until the duo turn away. At which point he haunches over, clutches his chest, and mutters something along the lines of "Oh farewell, my youthful spark~" under breath a few times. Of course, the moment any attention is shifted back towards him, the man is quick to straighten out and smile brightly.
"I see, I see. Most interesting." Ren rubs the pink scruff adorning his chin. While no stranger to death or the myraid of scents involved with it, even the flamboyant Chunnin couldn't help grimacing as soon as the stench washed over them. In spite of it, the man doesn't hesitate to wordlessly enter for a closer inspection of the bodies. Bruises, fractures, the odd cut in what little remains. There is little the man is willing to overlook while Arashi and the others converse. All the while he remained mindful to avoid disturbing the bodies too much.
"Not a bad idea, comrad." He says offhandidly. "Though personally…." He pauses, frowns, and then shakes his head before looking to the Amuro. "So, where to?"

RP: Rise transforms into SPAR-II.
RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…33

Ren's examination of the bodies would turn up much the expected cuts, bites, and scrapes from animals, no real surprise there. But his examination does end up bearing fruit eventually. Having been looking over the various marks he eventually notices some that don't fit. And after some careful looking notices there are marks on some of the remaining flesh, especially the face, that seems cut far too cleanly for animal claws and teeth, more in line with a blade one might hazard a guess though with the state of the corpses it's hard to tell.

Amuro meanwhile would nod to Arashi and open the door for them to leave when they were ready, "Of course. The first body is a little ways out but not too far. We should be able to reach it easily enough. The second one might mean traveling by night though which may hamper your search but I'll leave that up to you when it comes to it." With that he'd take the lead if they want to proceed.

Arashi would simply nod to let Amuro lead the way. He would keep an eye out the whole time as well if needed but not majorly until they were there at the body. When they were he got to work and spoke some. "Alright lets get to work." He did just that and expected them to handle it themselves. Well not fully as he would help but he expected them to do their own thing for this. "And Ren I guess just do what you do." Whatever that was. Looking at bodies so far.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…34

Once they arrived at the location Naruko was to do just that. She huffs slightly and begins to make her rounds in the area. The snow was actually benefit, it would allow for tracks and other things to linger longer, assuming nothing came to try and cover it up later. She goes back to her scent memory while trying to find some tracks to associate them with. She was looking for normal tracks and animal tracks, anything that could give further insight. She was goign to see if she could track any familiar tracks…and associate it with the dead body from before.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…34

Ren kept tight control over his expression during the examination. But afterwards, the man's eyes were kindled with determination. He would also relay what he found to the others along the way to the new location, confirming what others might've already figured or suspected about the deaths. These were no animal killings. At least, not by the phrase most direct meaning…
"My thanks, darling." Ren winks at Arashi. And with that, Ren began to the opposing side of Naruko. While she focused on tracks and scents, the man devoted more of his energy towards any signs explaining the means the men wound up dead; such as broken branches, and thin patches of snow where it should be thick.

RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…48

Amuro leads the way into a partially wooded area a couple hours out of town. He pointed off toward the west, indicating the direct of the first victim's cabin but that wasn't really the destination. The spot he lead them to was covered with snow though it was clear you could see some traffic through the area. There were even some traces of blood still visible on the snow.

Naruko would definitely be able to pick up animal scents in the area, common enough creatures, and wolves which were expected from the information given. The spot where the body had been found had a light layer of fresh snow but was clearly churned up and several tracks could be made out in the snow. She would also pick up the scent of carrion. The scent of the victim but something else, a different smell of death along with a faint trace of human though it would be hard to pinpoint it immediately from the mix of scents. Some careful searching would turn up a couple human tracks near the body but the rest seems to be lost either due to snow or because of the animals.

Ren meanwhile focused his searching on other signs. He would find a couple broken branches on some of the surrounding trees and one tree toward the southeast had a small smear of blood partway up, too high to come from even a wolf.

Arashi looked at Naruko closely to see if she noticed anything. He wasn't that accurate and he frowned a bit that he didn't know if he was going to be very helpful here. "Tell me if you notice anything. I will start moving a bit further outwards and use my mist to see if there is anything currently watching us." And he figured it was possible but he wasn't sure at all. Hopefully it prevented them from being caught off guard at least. The mist would spread out pretty far at least.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a GREATER-REVEALING-MIST…64

"Theres a lot going on here…but it looks like most of the trail is gone…stupid snow…" Naruko whines as she continues to look around for any particular leads. There was that one special potentially human scent that was hard to set out on, for this she literally went on all fours to give it a closer sniff, which was hard considering the large amount of different scents in the area. " Anyone else find any other leads? I…may have a scent…ish… But it really just depends on what else we can find."

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…36

"Hmm… No.. This is too cold even for them." Ren muttered underbreath while stroking his chin and staring intently at the smear of blood. In spite of his own doubts, Ren kept a closer eye on the tree tops close the group. Even the hinted at assurance of the team's leader does little to remove the trickle of fear now roaming about in the normally flamboyant man's mind. "Over here." He finally waves the pairs' attention over before directing it to the damaged and smeared tree. "Whatever it is that got those poor souls seems to have a liken for heights."

Arashi's mist wouldn't turn up any signs of people nearby as they thicken through the area. With focusing on the faint human scent Naruko would be able to get a little better bead on it. She would be able to discern that there was more than one though not how many. And while faint, the scent was 'fresher' toward the southeast though didn't seem to originate from that direction but where that might be is lost in the other scents.

Arashi frowned and looked at the others. "Yeah umm.. I got nothing. I am terrible at this spotting thing." He said with a chuckle. "Anyways Naruko and Ren.. You two find anything that could even slightly lead to what we need to find?" He sighed as this was probably not the best mission for him to lead. "Sorry I am not helpful for this sorta mission. My skills don't lend themselves to… Finding scents or tracks. At all." He did continue to look though.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…22

Naruko was getting a better hold of a scent but smell could only get them so far. "It looks like there were definitely multiple people here. Multiple people and one body…That's definitely fishy. I can't get much else other than that though. We will need to find bit more sources…" She glances to the southeast. I have a scent going in that direction but that's about it. We are definitely looking for another Human, she then looks to Ren. "Blood that high huh? Probably definitely a human then…we just need to figure out who and where…" THe search would continue , Naruko checking for a lead closer to the south east.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…58

"Oh don't put yourself down yet, my boy. With how things are looking, we'll be seeing your other 'talents' in action soon enough." Ren says while wondering over to pat Arashi on the shoulder. "Human?" He parrots, turning to regard Naruko. "Hmm… I was afraid of that." With little more to add, Ren turns back to pat Arashi a few more times if given the chance before following after Naruko. Start to, at least, only to remember their original guide lingering about the area. "What lies southeast of here?" He asks of Amuro.

Amuro had been quietly standing outside the area, trying to keep out of the way while the shinobi did their work since this was outside his expertise beyond simple tracking. When Ren speaks to him he blinks a bit then thinks, "Lets see…nothing. I mean, just some more forests and all same as around here. Can't really think of anything special that way." He shrugs, "But I will say it's away from the other corpse. So…guess that means this was their second kill, whoever these people are that did this."

Naruko would be able to get a lock on the scent for the time being, faint as it was and it definitely headed southeast. Blood was mixed in, and with her continued focus she'd be able to pick up the smell of more traces of blood in that direction; some above, some below confirming a trail. Sadly Arashi's searching didn't turn up anything new in the area.

Arashi looked at Ren first and chuckled. "I don't doubt I will have to do something but you know what…. I still think there were better options for this type of mission. I just think they didn't expect too much difficulty so they sent me just to look over things since I wasn't busy and I got to bring you and our friendly cat shinobi over there." He chuckled a bit more. "At least we do have her though. Might've been a bit harder to do things." Anyways he continued to look around. As much as he could. And he didn't really speak much on what Amuro said as it made enough sense and he didn't have any major questions.

"We will have to keep moving, I definitely smell more blood going in this direction…" Naruko said as she began to continue to walk in the direction of southeast, trying to figure what realyl happened. "The trail is quite obvious…We just need to follow this blood and see what is leads to…I recommend keeping your guard up…we gotta be very careful from here on out…"

"Indeed?" Ren asked Amuro. "Well then! In which case-…" He stops short after having been caught off guard by Naruko's statement. He glances once more down the way the trail leads before turning to offer Amuro a wave. "It seems then that this is where we part ways then Amuro… That is, if that is alright with you too, Arashi-san?" He pauses long enough for answer, and if given the go ahead starts making shoo'ing motions at Amuro. "Tell that village leader of yours that will report back what we find as soon as possible, alright?"

Amuro frowns, nodding, "Yes, indeed. This is really disturbing if we have people in the area capable of such violence. I'll make sure to let my father know, and he'll take the necessary precautions and we'll await your return with whatever news you have. Thank you for your help shinobi." With that he gives them a nod and turns, heading back to the village. For the team they're left with a trail they can follow.

Arashi would of course be looking around but that part where Amuro would be heading out made him pause. "Hey Naruko. Could you make a clone and send it with him to keep an eye on him?" This was said after Amuro had already moved outta ear shot. "Can stay out of sight. That way we can keep him safe if he needs it and watch what they do. Can't be too careful." He stated with a frown before looking back around the area they were at as he looked for all the clues. Maybe they would actually find something eventually. It was getting to that point where he was worried they would miss something or be too late for something."

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…29
RP: Naruko uses SHADOW-CLONE.
RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…45

Naruko nods to Arashi, creating a single shadow clone to go out and follow Amuro on his way back, keeping him safe for the time being. This allowed the regular Naruko to focus more on following the scent. They were on the right track, but she did feel alittle on edge. "This is like some creepy lost in the snow land playwright…" Naruko mummbles a bit to herself, shaking her head. "Definitely human, and this person put up quite the fight…ran like heck, or something. Lots of drops…"

RPCOMBAT: Rise defends against with a PERCEPTION-II…41

Ren struck one last good guy pose as Amuro retreated from the scene. The smile he wore soon waved with the man's passing out of sight. It is a short-lived one thanks to Arashi's suggestion, and with newly rekindled pep, Ren returned his focus on the trail. Again, the fabulous Chunnin left little to chance, for High and Low were looked over in equal measure. Spying increasing more evidence of their targets as they went along, Ren frowns and starts to slow his movements. Not by much to peel completely away from the others, but certainly enough that they may take notice of it.
"Their getting sloppy as well. We must be getting close. I… do fear that if this hunter has another in his *chuckles* or her sights, things might get a bit complicated."

Naruko's shadow clone wouldn't find anything suspicious about Amuro's actions. He made his way straight back to the village and found his father, informing him of when the shinobi had turned up and what they were doing now. Then he went with his father, likely to plan and prepare.
For the shinobi on the trail, things move along pretty easily. The signs are all there becoming more noticable as the group moves along. The ground turns more rocky, with it rising up ahead creating a sheer cliff face on the left and what might be a little open area beneath it.

Arashi frowned a little bit and looked at the other two. "Alright keep an eye out. For now stay quiet until I have the all clear. You two keep moving up." He said and then started to. He did have little signs he might be able to use with his hands. He personally was gonna just keep moving quietly as he looked around. Not much else he personally could do at the moment but he was ready. Oh and he made sure to have chakra readies just in case. Better to be safe than sorry. And with this area and it being more obvious he figured now was the right time for it.

Arashi's sudden use of chakra had pushed Naruko to do the same, at this point they were following the tracks rather straight forwardly, she would continue using her acute senses but for now it seems like the path was pretty straight…unless they were to reach another dead end. " Can't tell if it's getting any stronger btu we are definitely going the right direction… Definitely sloppy. Maybe we will be able to exact some justice fairly soon if they are stupid enough to stick around…"

Ren sighed lightly in relief and nodded curtly in agreement with the new order. Quiet the man could do whenever the need was great enough. Oddly enough, that need never seemed to be present outside of missions. c.c; "Do not let your hopes get too high, comrad, least we become the prey. And personally I prefer to keep this handsome work of art where it is." He gestures to his face and grins, catching the light just right enough for his teeth to glint in it. With that momentary distraction out of the way, Ren sharpened his focus on the cliff face. If the killer had a knack for heighs, mayhaps there are clues there this timie…

As Arashi and the others come into the area by the cliff face Naruko would get a sense of something coming from her left, beyond the cliff face. The sound of something running their way but that's really it. The small open area at the base of the cliff would be easily noticed to have been churned up with a large area of bloody snow scattered around and a visible trail through the snow continuing much the same direction as they were heading.

Arashi made a sign with his hand telling Naruko and Ren to split up a bit more and try to stay quiet if able. Obviously not as straightforward as that but close enough. He moved up himself to see if he needed to check on anything in particular. Specifically to see if he could find any information in the opena rea around here. The bloody snow mainly of course. See how it spread.. Maybe can see how the blood got to its current position. Was someone dragged through here or wrecked ight there for instance. Naruko could keep an eye out for anything further out.

RPCOMBAT: Arashi defends against with a PERCEPTION…31

The sight of more blood was truly begining to irritate Naruko, she frowned and clenched her fists, watching Arashi's sign but at this point she really just wanted to know the source of all of this. She would use this opprotunity to definitely spread out from Ren and Arashi, and take a better look at the clifface and the path of blood, she even reached down and dabbled some blood on her finger, checking to see just how fresh this blood may a have been. There were no words to leave her lips, instead she merely invesitgated this lead.

RPCOMBAT: Naruko defends against with a CAT-SENSE…38

The bloody snow looks to be scattered around, clumps and smears along with just being churned up. Hard to say but it doesn't seem like a person or creature bled out with the way it's all churned up and scattered about. There's not much blood leading away, just smeared in footprints so likely carried from the big area. The blood isn't fresh at all, mostly just dyeing the snow though likely the snow itself has kept the blood from drying completely.
Naruko would catch more sounds of running approaching the cliff, though the cause of the noise would be readily apparent as the sound of scrabbling and rocks falling come from the top of the cliff face. There's a large shadow that comes barreling over the edge in an incredible leap. It'd become clear as it sails over the groups' heads that the shadow turned out to be a huge wolf with a rider. Instead of crashing to the ground in a bloody mess the pair's descent seems to slow enough that they come in with a skid and scrambling of paws. The large wolf is mostly reddish brown and cream but a quick glance shows many spots where the fur might've been burned. The rider isn't discernable at the moment with a hooded jacket and half a mask of sorts. The rider too bares the singed marks of being burned especially the half mask which is almost entirely blackened. Both rider and beast appear quite worn out, but also staring back up at the cliff.

Arashi looked at Naruko and paused in thought. Hmmm he was curious to what she may see. Though it didn't take long for something to happen and what happened next sorta gave him a pause from looking for clues. "Prepare for a fight." He said quickly to the others as he formed a hand seal just in case. "Who are you and do you know what is going on here or are you a part of this?" He asked quickly before pausing and looking a bit closer. "Wait…" He paused a moment longer. "Uhhh…. Why do I recognize you?" He didn't fully know why he did. Mostly cause it was the wolf he was recognizing and not the rider. "No matter. Exlain your situation and what you are doing here!" Didn't want to assume they were the bad guy.

Naruko was very anxious with the whole situation. There wasn't anything creepy at all about following trails of blood and then finding a wolf and hidden person coming up next. Since Arashi said he had someonewhat recognized them she didn't say anything to confront this individual, instead she took a step back and made sure her senses were opened up so there would be no more surprises, instead she attempted to analyze the condition of the indivdiual from afar, analyze and prepare herself for anything that was to come from this, especially a sneak attack.

Hanami lifted her head wearily, her and Honi had been on the run for too long, they were both worn out. But she knew at least one of the chakra signatures she had come upon. Bit of a relief at least, so she reached up before responding to Arashi's questions and yanked off the burnt mask, coughing as she finally spoke her voice hoarse, "Long time Arashi. Things didn't go so well, but more later. I got company coming, and they /really/ wish me dead. It's been a long few days." And as if to punctuate her words, up on the cliff two forms appear. One jumps off and blasts fire to slow the fall while the other seems to surf down the side of the cliff coming to a stop a short distance from Arashi's party. The fire user is a man, the earth user a woman both wearing the same dark green outfits, looks like leather armor over long-sleeve shirt and then pants. The woman speaks, "Well looks like our prey came across some bystanders. Shame, she shouldn't have done that. Just means more bodies." The man just grins and darts forward without warning, holding his hands up he forms the signs and exhales a large fireball straight for Arashi. The woman meanwhile stands back and does her own hand signs, causing the earth beneath Naruko to shift and crumble, opening in the form of a gaping maw that tries to crush its jaws around her lower legs.

Arashi frowned and looked over Hanami for a moment. "Yes long time indeed. So they wish you dead. Any reason why they wish you dead?" He asked that question with a raised brow before pausing and looking at the people who showed up. "Oh fun. I do get to use my skillset." He frowned before turning to Naruko. "Lets make sure one of the two of them are captured alive. One of them being a casualty isn't an issue if it comes to that." He stated. "Hope one of you have some rope." He stated to his team. Though who knows maybe Hanami had some. "And Hanami. Explain this after we handle it." The attack that came his way was easily blocked with tiny strips of water that were stronger than they looked. The other went for Naruko though neither would really escape his attacks. Instantly his chakra increased to another level. Though not full power by a longshot just yet. Just enough to visibly show his increase in power as any sensor could see the chakra around him. And with just a few hand seals he fired an attack that would discharge when in between the two of them and explode outwhere. Electrical charge everywhere. "You two should make sure not to fight someone you can't beat if you get the chance another time."

"It's going to be difficult to keep a survivor…" Naruko simply replies back to Arashi as it was discovered that the attacked individual was Hanami… The rival shinobi made a grave mistake on who they were fighting today. Naruko simply rolled away from the maw before it could encompass her. She used that as an opprotunity to easily square up and motion into the rival woman's direction, forging a sphere of fire chakra into the palm of her hand she thrusted it out forward to slam into the rival. Not enough to kill but definitely enough to do damage.

Hanami glares at the two attackers, but it doesn't last long as she slumps, only able to support herself on Honi with her right arm. The wolf growls threateningly but he doesn't look in much better shape. "Luck is on my side for once…sorry but gonna have to leave them up to you…" And she promptly passes on though she's still atop Honi fine enough as the attackers strike at their opponents but fail to connect.

The man manages to react in time though to Arashi's attack, blazing in a jagged dash out of the way though his partner doesn't fair so well against either. He swears, "Get it together ****! What's wrong with you!?" He looks back to Arashi and sneers, "A couple shinobi **** wont stop us." With that he focuses his chakra and exhales a long fire whip-like tongue and with a flick of his head sends it lashing at Arashi to wrap around his body and burn him.

The woman clearly didn't have her game on at the moment as Arashi's blast shattered her dome striking her and causing her to scream in pain. It also clearly disrupted her concentration as Naruko's fire orb hit her hastily erected shield and busted through sending the woman crashing back. She staggered to her feet as her partner swore at her but she didn't respond, she was too **** to care. He was a **** anyways. So she focuses and the cliff behind her rumbles as the earth juts out in the form of a large dragon head which immediately opens its mouth to unleash a powerful torrent of mud straight for Naruko intent on striking her down with its force.

Arashi watched one of them get utterly destroyed by the combined assault but they did seem to live. The other one though was fine. For now. Though his comments seemed to bother Arashi. "Hey Naruko. See the man? We can kill that one. I'll capture the woman." The whip like tongue would strike a clone of water which then had that same water used to rush forwards and try to attach itself to both of their opponents. Different reasons. One was to prevent their escape from the upcoming attack while the other was to simply hold them captive. Whether the skill hit or not he would move close to the woman. "You know we won't kill you if you surrender now. We don't want you dead. And you may not believe me but Kumogakure is one that… Accepts others. If you gave us any info we needed we would easily decide to protect you. And I have a lot of say if you need my word on the matter."

Naruko was given the 'Okay' to kill the man responsible for the damage, and with that she would definitely carry that out. The earth dragon bullet slammed right into her, only to explode in a mass of firey chakra, replaced with a clone rather than the real Naruko getting hit. She then began to rapidly move forward towards the 'bad man' only to explode soon after making contact with him. Yet another clone, exploding at a close blast raidus to bring the evil guy to his knees, assuming he was caught in the explosion.

Well things certainly weren't going well for these two. Arashi's water chains bind both the man and woman despite their efforts to avoid them. This hinders the man's attempts of dodging Naruko's explosive clone which knocks him back, sending him crashing down to the ground. The woman meanwhile is held as Arashi speaks to her. She glares at him for a long moment but then glances at her felled partner and then sighs, "Fine, whatever. Surrender then. Guess the **** gets to go free, not like it'll matter anyways." She laughs dryly.

Arashi looked closely at her and frowned before turning to face Naruko and then the likely not even close to dead yet man. Never can be too sure. "Hmm. Well I guess we shouldn't just kill them just for the heck of it. If he is still alive and not in the midst of dying find something to tie him up with." He turned back to face the woman. "What's going on? With everything involving the girl over there. The more honest and forthcoming you are the more we all will be inclined to be understanding. And I think that would be very good for you. If we weren't well… I can promise it would not be very pretty." He frowned. They had many ways to get what they wanted or needed. "Anyways might as well tell us something now While we get things under control. And then we will be on our way back to Kumogakure." He paused a moment before turning to Hanami. "Oh and could someone please wake her up. She needs rest but I also need to know whats going on from her point of view as soon as possible. I don't want to bring issues all the way back to Kumogakure if they can be fixed immediately."

The woman glances at her fallen partner once more, then shrugs as she looks back to Arashi, "Geez, it's like you want me to give you my entire life story, so needy! Very well, doesn't matter anyways. We were sent to kill someone. The job was done, and we cleaned house. Well except for that one, she gave us more trouble than we cared for. Knew we should've just let her go, figures. Does anyone listen to me though? Noooooo." She spits on the ground, "There you have it. Killed our target, and chased your friend down since she was a witness." Her partner seems to be alive, though barely so who knows if he'll end up being any help but he still is secured just in case. While that's going on Ren goes to Hanami and gently shakes her till she stirs groggily, "Wha…oh. Oh good, fight's done…" she winces as she shifts up, blinking and definitely favoring her left arm which doesn't seem to be working well, "So…hey. Been well?" This awkward question is directed at Arashi.

Arashi looked at the woman and nods slowly. "I will have more questions later. To be more specific about this job but that is acceptable for now. And umm sorry about this." He would then place a hand on the womans shoulder before zapping her with enough force to make her pass out. Hopefully long enough to travel without any trouble. And he would then also bring the man over as well. Keep them together and as alive as he could with first aid. Two people to question was better than one. Even if he would let the man die otherwise. "Hey Hanami. I've been better. I figure you could say the same yeah?" He asked befoe stepping over and offering some first aid that he had on him. "Could you tell me what happened and why or how it happened?"

Hanami grimaces as you check her out, and are able to see her left arm is clearly broken. "Yeah…something like that. Kinda botched things up, shocker," she coughs, "Wasn't getting anywhere finding Chitabe or his plans. Was getting ready to extricate myself when the group I was with was called to Chitabe." She shakes her head, "So I couldn't leave, figured this was my shot. But things went south pretty quickly. The repeated failures must've drove the guy man, I don't know. Never got into a good position with them but you hear things. Then those guys appeared, though there were more of them. Talk was Chitabe was going to do something extreme but then…well they killed him. Explosions, screaming, and then it just went to ****…"she coughs, shaking her head, "They slaughtered everyone. And yeah, many of them were scum but some had families, innocent people that didn't deserve it. Tried to help but couldn't so…so I ran. Couldn't take them all on. Got one of them, Honi surprised another that would've gotten me and then managed to take out another while on the run but at that point I was spent and those two would've gotten me eventually. **** lucky you were around." She just gives a long sigh.

Arashi nods lightly at her story before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah I would say you were lucky. I can tell how worn out you are just from looking at you. We will get you back to Kumogakure. I promise you that much." He said before giving her a quick hug. She was still a member of his team and he was glad to see she was alright. "Now. I think we could start heading back now. Umm I have to say it might be easiest if the two of them were carried.. Well basically do you think you could walk? I could probably help if you need it but it would be easiest if none of us had to carry our captives." He frowned. Another reason two captives was annoying but he could deal with it. "Once we have that settled we can start heading back."

Hanami sags, but nods, "Thanks, yeah. Be good to get back. City hasn't been blown up again while I was gone I hope?" She bites her lip, rubbing Honi and leaning down to whisper to him before sitting back up, "I think he's up for it, if there's somewhere nearby we can stop at? Not entirely sure where we are but I'm pretty sure we're not close enough to Kumo for either of us to make it right now without rest. And I gotta see to Honi's injuries as well. He's tough, but he took a beating too. But yeah, as long as you don't expect us to go any faster than a slow walk." With that she manages to slide off Honi only a little ungracefully and waits for the others to put the prisoners on Honi's back. Letting them keep an eye on the cargo, Hanami would just keep a hand on Honi's neck, leaning against him some whenever they set off, obviously letting Arashi lead the way.

"Nope. It is still there. No worries. And if there isn't a place we can stop at then I will just attempt to set up a camp. As best we can. No need to push you until we get back. If you get too tired just tell me. I can carry you until we reach a good stopping point or until you are ready to walk again." And with that Arashi would simply start leading them onwards. If Hanami needed it he would indeed carry her a bit of course. It wouldn't be an issue for him really and he figured it wouldn't be long until she was alright. The other two would be both assigned on forward scouting and prisoner duty. Taking turns doing both as best they could.